


who could stay?

by Splashy



Series: Songfics [9]
Category: Wicked - All Media Types, Wicked - Schwartz/Holzman
Genre: Angst, F/F, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 17:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20029258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Splashy/pseuds/Splashy
Summary: Something is not as it should be





	who could stay?

**Author's Note:**

> so MAYBE I am obsessed with taylor swift's newest song (The Archer) what about it
> 
> this was originally written on my phone. while I was on a plane, headed to new york city. but now that I am back and have access to a computer it has been edited (I didn't really do any proper editing I just added a few paragraphs and lines here and there)
> 
> anyway uh. enjoy this. it follows my best memory of the musical.

_I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost_  
_The room is on fire, invisible smoke_  
_And all of my heroes die all alone_  
_Help me hold onto you_

Glinda woke with a start.

She looked out her window and saw that it was still dark. She wondered, briefly, what it was that had woken her up. As if she didn't know. As if the same thing hadn't been waking her up for years.

She got out of bed, intending to head straight to her window, but suddenly staying still seemed impossible. She had to move. She had to go somewhere, do _something—_

But what was there that she could do? Elphaba was out there, and she was here. Elphaba was out changing the world for the better, and she - Glinda the "Good," as if that was something that she could ever use to describe herself - was working for the same people Elphaba had condemned.

Glinda continued to pace around. This was—different. Whenever this happened - as it did every night for so long she had long since stopped trying to fight it - she would simply stare out into the night sky until she could finally sleep. Sometimes it took hours, other times only a few minutes.

But never had she felt so restless.

During her pacing, her attention was caught by the mirror. Staring into it, at her own reflection, she realized she had never looked so pale before. Gingerly, she brought a hand up to her face. She looked almost...ghostly.

The feeling that had budded inside her had grown until she could ignore it no longer.

Something was wrong.

She didn't know what or where or how, but _something_ was off. Wrong. 

If Elphaba had gotten hurt or worse, who’s to say the same wouldn’t happen to Glinda? Nothing physical may happen to her, but her heart would surely break. And what was the point of living if you had no heart?

She continued her pacing. This realization did nothing to calm her. In fact, it only spurred her further.

But still, there was nothing Glinda could do. She was restless _and_ helpless. And she hated it. 

Or maybe...

Finally, she could take it no longer. She opened the window and summoned her bubble. Before long, she was off, headed to Kiamo Ko. Headed to change something.

\---

Glinda hurried to get there as fast as she could, fearing she was already too late. But on the way there, she noticed the little ragtag crew that was made up of those Dorothy had acquired in her journey. Elphaba must have captured Dorothy somehow.

She willed her bubble to go faster.

Immediately upon arriving she set out to find Elphaba. It hadn't been hard and she nearly kicked the door down in her haste to get to her.

Elphaba, who she hadn't seen since she had left with Fiyero after their little fight. She still felt the sting of betrayal at the thought, but not for the reason she thought she would have.

She loved Elphaba. _Loves._ She doesn't think she ever stopped and she's sure she never will.

Elphaba seemed a little surprised to see Glinda, but she also seemed like she had been expecting this.

Glinda was quick to tell her of what she had seen, how the others were coming to get Dorothy back. She noticed Elphaba seemed a little sad to hear of the Tinman and the Scarecrow, but Glinda had no time to dwell on that. They had to get Elphaba out of here!

But...Elphaba seemed so tired of all this and she refused to hide. Glinda begged, pleaded for her to continue hiding. She'd come with this time. She'd made the wrong choice last time, but she won't make the same mistake again. But Elphaba refused.

She told Glinda to hide. And Glinda resisted at first. She wouldn't hide! She'd be by Elphaba's side at all times and would never leave her.

But then Elphaba kissed her. It was quick and brief and not nearly enough. As she pulled away, Glinda reached up to cup her face and kissed her again. Kiss after kiss, each one more desperate than the last. As if it would be their last. And she had a feeling it would be.

And then Elphaba was leaving her and drawing a curtain between them and all she could do was listen.

The restless feeling came back.

And then the sound came. Elphaba screaming, the sound of skin burning. Fire, in this room, but also not. Was there smoke? She couldn't tell.

And then silence. Deafening silence all around her, suffocating her until she felt as though she couldn't breathe.

Glinda let out a quiet, tentative "Elphie...?" before moving forward, withdrawing the curtain. Upon seeing the sight that awaited her, she sobbed out "Oh Elphie!" and rushed over.

Clothes and her hat. That hat she had given to her as a _joke_ with the intention of making fun of her. That was all that remained of Elphaba.

Was Elphaba allergic to water? That felt like something she should have known. But it had been so long since their school days, and her memory had gotten so hazy. She couldn't say for sure whether Elphaba had an affliction against water. And the fact that she didn’t know, it made her feel like she had betrayed Elphaba somehow. She should know. Why didn’t she know?

She held the clothes and hat to her chest, crying into them. Elphaba had died, all alone. Glinda was there, but she couldn't do anything. Surely there was something she could have done? Something to prevent her from crying into all that remained of her beloved, with the only person she had ever loved dead.

She wished things had gone differently. She would change so much. She'd hold onto Elphaba and never let go. She'd leave with her after meeting with the Wizard. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so alone now. Maybe Elphaba would still be alive, and they could be happy. Together.

The little monkey - the same one Elphaba had given wings to, though she couldn't remember the name of it - came up to her, handing her a little green vial. And she realized she recognized it.

First, from that time many years ago when she'd taken it from Elphaba and Elphaba had told her it belonged to her mother. It was one of the few clear memories she had of those times.

And secondly, she remembered it from when the Wizard had offered her a drink from a glass that looked just like this.

As she headed back to the Emerald City, she knew what she had to do.

If Elphaba wasn't here to make things better anymore, then she'd have to do it herself. And maybe it would help Glinda hold onto her one and only love.

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly can't guarantee I wont still make a songfic for the whole song. that was the original idea and I might still do it


End file.
